The pervasive use of multi-media messaging applications and transport services such as the Internet has given rise to a need for translating a message created in one delivery method to a recipient's preferred delivery method and to delivering the message in the preferred delivery method. In particular, there has been interest expressed in sending voice messages over the Internet in electronic mail format. The Voice Profile for Internet Mail (VPIM) is an Internet standard created for that purpose. VPIM defines a protocol profile of an extension to Internet electronic mail. Voice messaging systems (VMSs) that support VPIM are capable of exchanging voice messages over the Internet using Internet electronic mail.
VPIM has industry acceptance and is being implemented by major voice messaging vendors. it is assumed that regular telephones will be used for some time yet as an interface for sending voice messages. Consequently, there is a requirement for a mechanism to permit a VMS to convert a telephone number of a voice message recipient into an Internet electronic mail address.
The voice messaging industry is investigating the use of Internet Light-Weight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for mapping from a telephone number to an Internet electronic mail address. However, first generation VPIM compliant VMSs may not support directory protocols required for such mapping. Those VMSs will use either manually updated tables, sendmail configuration files, or Domain Name Service (DNS) to map from telephone numbers to e-mail addresses. However, those options may not scale well and may not permit them to take advantage of a global voice messaging directory. Other telecommunications-related services could also profit from an ability to access data stored in the global voice messaqing directory which would enable an application process to convert an object's telephone number to an electronic mail address to permit messages and/or information to be sent to that electronic mail address.
A voice mail communication system which is enabled to convert a telephone number to an electronic mail address using a directory connected to a local area network (LAN) is known and taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,675 which issued on Apr. 29, 1997 to Katsumaru et al. This patent teaches a voice mail system which includes a voice mail exchanger and a mail server connected to the LAN. Voice mail communication between a telephone and a terminal device, such as a client computer, is registered in the LAN-based multi-media mailbox. A PBX-based voice mail apparatus and the LAN-based multi-media mail system are integrated so that voice information can be commonly used and re-used. The system is enabled to support LAN directory protocols. This system does not provide an addressing solution for VPIM compliant VMSs or telecommunications applications which do not support directory protocols.
There therefore exists a need for a method and apparatus for providing translation services to VPIM compliant VMSs and other telecommunications application processes which could benefit from a service for translating telephone numbers to the address of other multi-media delivery methods.